Automatic sprinkler.



No. 825,453. PATBNTBD JULY 1o, 190s.

R. w. GBRTZ. AUTQMATIG @mmm APPLIOATIOE FILED 23.29.1906.

UNITED srirrns ,FATEN T OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 10, 1906.

Application led April 29, i965. Serial No, 258,011.

To a/Z whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD W. Gnn'rz, a citizen ofthe United States, and a resident of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an imprevement in Automatic Sprinklers, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawin s, is a specification, like numerals on the drawings representing like parte.

The building laws in many laces require that a so-called lire-door s all be placed between different rooms in a factory, and these doors are usually made oi Wood sheathed in sheetiron or some similar sheet metal, and Where the Wall between two rooms is of any 'thickness two such doors are used, one at each side of the Wall. While these doors to some extent prevent the s read of lire from one room to another, yet i a re generating any considerable heat starts in one room the wood of the door ver soon becomes charred in spite of the metals eathing, and 'when this occurs thc iire is very likely to break through the sprinkler system.

the door.

I have devised an automatic sprinkler system to be used between two separated firedoors interposed between tWo rooms and which is for the purpose of automatically spraying 'Water on the inside of each door if a fire breaks out in either room, therebykeeping the doors cool and preventing them from becoming charred.

Figure 1 is a vertical section through a portion of a building having my improvements applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a section on the line :c as, Fig. 1. f

3 designates a partition-Wall'dividing tw rooms 4 and 5 in a factory, and' 6 and 7 designate two lire-doors interposed between these rooms, said doors being separated Widely from each other, as is sometimes the case. These doors are each formed of a lling 8 of Wood,vvbch is sheathed in sheet metal 9, and they may be either sliding or doors. 10 designates a sprinkler-head located between the doors, said head having two sprin klers 1 1 and 12, one for the inner side of each door. Said sprinklers are arra ed to s rinklle the entire surface of each oor an are connected to a suitable pipe 13, connected to a. water-supply and perharipp forming part'of e water is normally led from the sprinklerhead 10 by suitable valves 15 and 16, said valves being adapted to be opened automatically if a lire occurs in either room.

As herein shown, the valve-stems 17 of each valve are weighted by means of a suitable weight 18, and each valve is held closed by fusible members 19, said members being made of suitable material which will fuse at a comparatively low temperature. lf a lire occurs in either room and the temperature adjacent either fire-door reaches a certain point, the fusible members 1Q will be melted, thereby allowing the weight 18 to open the valve 1n the room Where the temperature is thus raised. As soon as this occurs water is admitted to the sprinklenhead and the inside of each door is sprinkled, this s raying opera tion continuing until the valve 1s again closed. The sprinkling of the nre-doors prevents them from being burned through, and with this simple expedient itis 'possible oftentimes to confine the lire in one room of a factory or building.

Althou h the doors herein shown are fori-ned o Wood sheathed in metal, it will be obvious that my invention mi ht be emloyed in connection 'with iron e-doors or oors of any character.

Upon looking at the drawings it will be noted that the space between the two firedoors shown constitutes a small room or compartment, and my invention in its broadest aspect includes a door` separating two compartments or rooms, a sprinklerhead on one side of the door being arranged to sprinkle substantially the entire surface of the door, and a thermostatie valve in the rooni on the other side of thedoor controlling said sprinkler-head.

i In some building construction only one fire-door is used between adjacent rooms or compartments, and Where this is the case oni one sprinkler-head will be necessary, as Wil be obvious, and m invention Will take the form above referre to. Such an ada tation of my invention would be especial y useful in connection with rooms Where explosives and highlycombustible material are kept and also in connection with doors leading to or from staircases.

Having fully described my invention, what lclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is Y 1. In a building, two fire-doors separate from 'each other and interposed between two rooms, a sprinkler-head between said doors edepted to sprinkle both of thernJ a pipe eoni said compartment, a pipe connected to said nected to said sprinkler-heed and extending sprinkler-head and extending into the other into each room, and a thermostate valve in i coin artrnent, and a thermostatie valve in each room controlling said pipe 'whereby l said atter compartmentcontrollngsaid pipe. i 5 when the temperature rises beyond e prede- In testimony whereof I have signed my termined point in either room the inside of naine to this specification in the presence oi` y the doors is sprinkled. two subscribing witnesses.

2. In e building, a door separating two RICHD. W. GERTZ. compartments or rooms from eaoh other, a sprinkler-head in one eon'ipartment ada )ted to sprinkle the side of the door which aces Witnesses z LOUIS C. SMITH, MARGARET A. DUNN. 

